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The PQRST Pain Assessment method is an essential tool in the medical field for evaluating pain. This pain assessment method helps healthcare professionals identify the cause and severity of a patient’s pain, facilitating more accurate diagnoses and more effective treatments for various pain conditions.
Here is a detailed look at how the PQRST Pain Assessment method is applied in clinical practice!
What is Pain?
According to the latest definition from the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP, 2020), pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.
Pain is a personal experience influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors to varying degrees.
Pain is the leading cause of emergency care for most patients, with nearly 75-80% of patients reporting different degrees of pain.
Since pain differs from vital signs and cannot be objectively measured using instruments, pain assessment can be challenging, especially in emergency departments where time is limited.
This, of course, presents a significant challenge for nurses who are responsible for emergency pain management.
What is Pain Assessment?
Pain assessment is the process of determining whether the pain experienced by a patient is acute or chronic. If the pain has lasted for more than three months, it is usually classified as chronic. It is essential to distinguish between acute and chronic pain.
Pain assessment has long-term implications for patient morbidity and mortality. When more than 30% of patients report pain lasting more than six months, medical professionals must have various tools to define the patient’s pain to manage it better.
It is estimated that 8% of adults and 6% of children suffer from chronic pain, limiting function and quality of life. Therefore, standardized pain assessment, such as the PQRST Pain Assessment, is an objective way to monitor a patient’s symptoms and recovery.
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PQRST Pain Assessment Method
The PQRST Pain Assessment method is a crucial component in evaluating a patient’s pain. P stands for provocation/palliative (what triggers the pain), Q for quality (the nature of the pain), R for region/radiation (the location of the pain), S for severity (the intensity of the pain), and T for time (when and how long the pain occurs).
Using this acronym, pain evaluation can be performed comprehensively, addressing various aspects of the patient’s pain experience.
This assessment method helps medical professionals understand the nature and severity of the patient’s pain more thoroughly, allowing the information gathered to be used effectively in making appropriate treatment decisions.
Here’s a breakdown of each component of the PQRST Pain Assessment, along with brief explanations:
1. P – Provocation/Palliation
The letter P represents ‘provocation,’ referring to what triggers the pain, and ‘palliation,’ referring to what relieves the pain.
Healthcare professionals may ask patients what worsens their pain and what makes them feel better. For example, a patient might report that certain activities or movements exacerbate the pain, while rest or medication alleviates it.
2. Q – Quality
Q refers to the quality or nature of the pain. Medical staff may ask patients to describe their pain in their own words.
For instance, a patient might describe the pain as sharp, dull, throbbing, or burning.
3. R – Region/Radiation
R represents the region, meaning the location of the pain, while radiation refers to determining whether the pain spreads to other areas of the body.
Patients may be asked to point to where they feel the pain and whether it radiates to other areas. For example, a patient might report pain in the left arm that radiates to the shoulder.
4. S – Severity
S stands for severity, referring to the intensity of the pain.
Healthcare professionals may ask patients to rate their pain on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 representing no pain and 10 representing the worst imaginable pain. This rating helps clinicians understand how severe the pain is and its impact on the patient’s daily life.
5. T – Time
Time refers to when the pain occurs and how long it lasts. Some questions that may be asked of patients include:
- How long have they been experiencing the pain?
- Is the pain constant or intermittent?
- Does the pain occur at certain times or in response to specific activities?
Application of the PQRST Pain Assessment Method
To apply the PQRST Pain Assessment method, healthcare professionals typically ask the following questions based on the areas of exploration mentioned earlier.
| Letter | Meaning | Question for PQRST Pain Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| P | Provocation/Palliation | “What makes your pain worse? What relieves it?” |
| Q | Quality | “How would you describe your pain? Is it sharp, dull, burning, or something else?” |
| R | Region/Radiation | “Where is the pain located, and does it radiate to other parts of your body?” |
| S | Severity | “On a scale of 0 to 10, how severe is your pain? 0 means no pain, and 10 means the worst pain imaginable.” |
| T | Time | “When did your pain start? Is it constant or does it come and go?” |
The answers obtained from these questions help nurses and healthcare professionals identify the cause of the pain and develop an appropriate treatment plan.
By utilizing the PQRST Pain Assessment, nurses can comprehensively understand the patient’s pain, including its location, intensity, quality, and aggravating factors.
This information can be used to tailor a treatment plan to meet the patient’s needs and monitor the effectiveness of pain management interventions over time.
Get a treatment plan tailored to your patient’s needs at home with Kavacare’s homecare services or consult for your medical travel. Contact Kavacare Support via WhatsApp at 0811-1446-777 for a free consultation today!
Source:
- IASP Announces Revised Definition of Pain. https://www.iasp-pain.org/publications/iasp-news/iasp-announces-revised-definition-of-pain/. Diakses 8 November 2023.
- Practice and reflection on the management mode of pain quality control in emergency pre-check and triage. https://apm.amegroups.org/article/view/45380/html. Diakses 8 November 2023.
- The PQRST Pain Scale Guide – SimpleNursing. https://simplenursing.com/pqrst-pain/. Diakses 8 November 2023.
- Pain Assessment – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556098/. Diakses 8 November 2023.
